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[threemonkeys]

I am indebted to thoatherder for pointing out that I don't watch enough TV with ads in it. Actually, I'm happy with that situation but not so happy with the other side of it. I have seen an awful lot of TV shows where the ads have been removed. With the current season finishing in the states, it is worth taking stock and seeing just how much that is. A lot. A lot a lot. A lot a lot a lot. These from the last year or so:

Heroes - well duh. Is there anybody out there not watching Heroes?

Doctor Who - also duh. I have been watching The Doctor since Ian & Barbara first wandered into that junk yard. I'm actually not that fussed with the current series. The stories seem a bit weak and David Tennant has that "rabbit in the headlights" look just too much. I like Grace though.

Torchwood - this Dr Who spinoff kept annoying me with its inconsistency. Some excellent bits mixed with some rubbish.

Dexter - a serial killer who only kills bad guys. Creepy and disturbing but compelling. A superbly put together show. There is going to be another season but I'm almost wishing there wasn't because it makes such a great miniseries on its own.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - typical Aaron Sorkin with typically great banter. That is until they hauled it in for a mid series tune-up and "emphasised the relationships". They broke it. Cancelled.

Jericho - The end of the world in a small town in Kansas. I struggled with this one for the first half of the season and almost gave it away. This time they gave it a mid season makeover and made it a lot better with more mystery and action. It finished with a cliffhanger and got cancelled. Bastards.

Raines - cop sees murder victims in his imagination. I didn't think I was going to stick with it but it grew on me. The role just suits Jeff Goldblum so well. So naturally it got cancelled after 7 episodes.

30 Rock - the poor cousin of Studio 60 also basing itself on SNL. This show is much more silly and works much better. Tina Fey (creator, writer, producer) and Alec Baldwin have a delightfully cracked on-screen chemistry.

Drive - only 4 episodes before cancellation. Sob.

Weeds - crazy as a snake on acid. More plot twists in an episode than most manage in a season with wonderfully unhinged characters.

The Riches - "travellers" who take on the American dream. This started well, but has settled into a formula which misses out on so much potential. It has been picked up for a second season, but I won't be there with it.

My Name is Earl - delivers the comedy goods for my sense of humour.

Family Guy and American Dad - you can dig the knife in so much deeper with an animated series. There two are virtually indistinguishable and I like them both.

In Case of Emergency - a sitcom that had a great cast of characters who had lost everything. Well above average to start so of course it was cancelled. To be honest I was losing interest anyway.

Primeval - Brit series designed to show off how good they are at CGI dinosaurs. I kept waiting for the story to get good. It didn't.

Skins - a bunch of high school kids in Bristol seem hell bent on self destruction in their personal lives. Watching them come apart and try to rebuild themselves proved to be much more interesting mainly because it is actually also very funny. It has the potential to turn into a soap opera as the energy levels drop, but so far is worth a peek.

Standoff - FBI cops doing hostage negotiation. Supposedly based around the relationship between the two main characters but I found that weak. The stories and the supporting cast were excellent however. Kind of the opposite of Bones, but this is the one I kept watching. Cancelled.

The Dresden Files - based on the Jim Butcher books. Inconsistent - it kept threatening to go downhill then it would right itself. But it did finish its season strongly. As far as I know, plans for a second season are yet to be determined.

I have probably forgotten a few and this isn't even considering the older series I have obtained and watched as well as various series I only gave one or two episodes before discarding. Plus, of course, this is only the fiction series. The wonderful Top Gear and QI are pretty much the top of my watching list along with Mythbusters and any documentary produced by Michael Wood. It is no wonder I'm not getting enough reading done.

Actually I'm quite disturbed by how big this list is. I intend to watch considerably less next season. It may well be a good thing so many shows got canceled.

[EDIT: It isn't as bad as it seems - a little calculation shows that this amounts to less than half an hour per day]

Comments

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

In retrospect I thought it was OK - it just wasn't the big explosion we were all expecting so it seemed flat. At least it wasn't a cliffhanger (teaser notwithstanding).